Construction of toy locomotive



Dec. 18, 1956 J. H. BERRY 2,774,311

CONSTRUCTION OF TOY LOCOMOTIVE Filed July 29, 1953 INVENTOR F163. JACK H. BERRY United States Patent CONSTRUCTION OF TOY LOCOMOTIYE Jack H. Berry, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 29, 1953, Serial No. 370,980 3 Claims. (c1. 105-99) The invention relates to improvements in the construction of toy locomotives, in particular the method by which the rotary motion of an electric motor shaft mounted within the toy locomotive may be transferred smoothly and continuously down to the traction wheels' Previous designs of small scale invention eliminates these undesirable characteristics ofprevious toy locomotive power transfers and permits the construction of a toy locomotive which much more closely simulates the operating characteristics of actual locomotives. toy locomotive may be mounted with shaft horizontal in the locomotive body; with a double ended electric motor, that is one possessing shafts extending from either end, more than one locomotive truck may be powered, thus giving greater traction to the toy locomotive and more closely approximating the traction characteristics of an actual locomotive in a small scale toy model.

My invention may be used in scale models of locomotives or in toy locomotives. The purpose of the invention is to obtain a method of transferring'the motive power of a rotating shaft powered by an electric motormounted within the locomotive body down through the locomotive power trucks but yet preserve all the degrees of freedom of linear motion and rotation for the truck wheels and for the truck as a whole which is characteristic of conventional locomotive design. These objectives are realized by forming the truck king pin in such a way that it is hollow and will permit a coaxial vertical drive shaft to rotate freely within it, and so designing the king pin that it is formed or cast as an integral part of the truck bolster. i a f.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the present improvements will be understood as capable of embodiment in a wide variety of structural forms from which I have chosen to illustrate herein a preferred example which will be understood in fuller detail from the following description having reference to the accompanying drawings herein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a toy locomotive traction truck and parts of the locomotive frame embodying the present improvements. Parts are in section and parts are cut away. A short section of track which the locomotive runs on is also shown.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the locomotive truck taken along the line 22 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the locomotive truck taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the end of the journal box and section of the side frame showing the mounting of Furthermore, the electric motor for powering the 2,774,311 Patented Dec. 18, 195? the journal box and spring and their relationship to the side frame.

A small horizontally mounted electric motor shaft 10 is fastened by means of a shaft coupling 11 to a second horizontally mounted shaft 12. The shaft 12 is fitted with a small beveled gear 13. This shaft 12 with its beveled gear is mounted in suitable bearings 14, 14 held in the locomotive frame. The small beveled gear 13 engages a second larger beveled gear 15 mounted on a vertical shaft 16 and held in proper alignment by means of a small bearing 17. The vertical shaft 16 is provided with a small pinion gear 18 which engages a second gear 19 mounted on a second vertical shaft 20. This second vertical shaft 20 is passed vertically through the king pin 21. The entire locomotive truck pivots freely about the center of its .king pin 21. The king pin 21 is an integral part of the bolster 22 of the truck as is shown in both Figure 1 and Figure 3. The short vertical shaft which passes axially through the center of the king 0 pin 21 terminates in a small beveled pinion gear 23. This pinion gear 23 engages a second beveled gear 24 mounted on a shaft 25 in a horizontal position and in the same horizontal plane as the two truck axles 26. The

horizontal shaft 25 is mounted in the center, axially, of 25 the truck and transmits torque to small beveled pinion gears 28 attached at either end. This shaft 25 is held in proper position by bearing surfaces framed in the bolster 29 and assembled by removing the top and bottom portions of the bolster casting which join on the same 30 horizontal plane in which the center line of shaft 25 lies and are designated in the accompanying drawing as a plane surface 34. The truck axles 26 are mounted within a gear box 31, the ends of the axles pass out either side of the gear box and through. bearings 32. p

The gear box itself is held to the bolster by means of a small collar section 33 which is an integral part of the bolster.- However, the gear box is free to rotate about an axis 4-4. This degree of rotational freedom in the gear box permits the wheels 35 and axles 26 upon which '40 the wheels 35 are rigidly attached'to adjust to small irregularities in the track 36. vTo facilitate assembly of the gear box 31 and its interior parts gears 28, 27 and axles 26, and alsoto permit mounting on bolster collar 33, the gear box is composed of two castings, one topand one bottom section, fastened together in assembly by small screws 37. The gearbox. 31 is held onto the bolster collar 33 by a small gear box collar 38 which interlocks with the bolster collar 33 as is shown in Figure 2. p a The side frames 39 are held in place by means of two small pins 10, about which the bolster has a small degree of freedom to rotate inadjustment to axial pitching motions of the truclt as a whole. The small pins 41) pass through suitable holes in the bolster and into suit-.

able holes prepared in the side frame.

trated in cross section byFigure 3 and in anielevation'; Figure 4. Small springs 42 hold the side frame in sus pension about the journal boxes. A small steel staple 43 prevents the journal box from dropping out of the bottom of the journal slot in the side frame 39. This arrangement permits the individual wheels to raise and lower in adjustment to irregularities 'in the track 36, but

without transmitting those adjustments as violent rocking motions to the entire truck and in turn to the locomotive body.

The several degrees of freedom described in'this em bodiment of my improvements permits a small, continuous transfer of torque from a horizontal rotating motor shaft down to the traction wheels of a locomotive'truck,

V striking similitude to the performance, observed in actual section of track.

1 a fig t x vertical 7 shaft "passing 'tlifong h itliekin'g" 15 nd a 5 "l "9 .fi i i a in a imspae draaaansaip with m nager enawalls; tl l' dfait-j able horizontal unitary shaftmoun in the said 7 4 merhtier satin-a Javier vided-withopenings;eenter'ed';'on th V in the e'fid walls; said open" mounting, axlesm iin'ted' wit i ibby th E5 th gf n' 'Vhorizontalapleine, gearfil ns to while at the same time preserving a response tothe irregularities of the track in a manner which is in a locomotives during their movements along" an? egulat ibjbuta naegqfcbsk I g I I p that thjefge'a'r oxer-win remalnin rts proiier alignment with drive shaft 25,"rather large 'be'aringi'sur face s mast ';1. A toy locomotive: saiaa {rffik'1cjdiiipris ing a unitary V bolster "ancl hollow king pin the bolster portion beingd'po rtion f of the' bolster, a freely I intheinterior oif the'bblst'en'the o sterl beingfprov idedfl with a horizontal opening in-either and 45 wall centered'onthesaid horizontal plane anasurrounded V ggd arabns zontalplanelwit'hin' the bolster-5a iextendirig throhgh' and-fieyendfth'e' said' and --wall 1:h ole, the" rt ical ft being connected by gearr'iier'r'is to the horliont a'l s i hollow gear boxes havingend walls pla n e in the vertical shaft maybe transferred to, theaxle independently of rotation of the bolster about the axis of the king pin and independently of rotation of the axles about a horizontal axis at right angles to the said axles. i

fixedly mounted to the axles; all in combinationflwith V 2. Ina toy locomotive tractionwheeltruck having a V siderframes, movably mounted journals in the side fraines, axles, having ends jonrnaled in the journal'boxes, wheels three gear boxese'ach having end'wa'lls'and being formed r by upper members and lower members joined onia horizontal pl'afieinithemid regionsof -the gear boxes and positioned betweerr'the sidegfrarnesand adjacent one another end to end, openings in the end walls of the gear boxes centeredron the said plane, collar members'extendingaxially outward around the openings in the center 5 gear box and having enlarged portions in spacedrelatiori' V ship; to the endr'Wall-of the center gear boxathe: openings i'n'th'e end: gearboxes being, adapted to interlocle about? the center gear boxtcollarrnembers to iprevent axial-1 movement: of the gear boxes-with respect to one another,; a but to permit rotational movement with-respect totonj another, a;' horizontal-"rotatably. mounted unitary shaft-- extending through the cente'r'fgear box, through thei end wall. openings in the end gear boxes and ha'vi'ngjeither' end terminate within one, end gear box, the said axles beingrotatablv mounted in the end gearboxes" centered on the ;said vhorizontal plane and extending laterally;

beyond the sidesof the gear boxesQinto the journal boxes; gear means-connecting} the horizontal shaft and the axles, the gearboxes being supported between the side'frarnes V by means of aisingle pin protruding symmetrically from- V each side frame, and a; rotatable vertical shaft connected;

by-gear means to the horizontalshaft in the, center gear; box and extending symmetrically upwardgthrou'gh the upper memberof the center gear box, whereby rotary; motion: may be transferred'from-the ve'rtijcalshaft to. the wheels ;on-,the ax-les irrespective of vertical motions of the individual fjournal boxes within the side 'frames;

. 3. 'In'atoy locomotive the combination of a gear box 1 7 having, sides and" ends, "an axle irotatably mounted; within the gearbox, the ends thereof extending beyond theisides= of; the gear box, means: fo'r rotatabljniountingl the gear 7.

box; OlPltS' end fwall :and; having an jiopening co-axiallyl V T 11511! 3 1928" N -1 5 3 i Sept; 2 2, 194;

disposed-within the 'rotatable mounting,a horizontal shaft' j in thecpla'ne of the'a'xle rotatably mounted a right-angles 7 tothe axle within theopeningzand extending-therethrougmf 1 V gear-means eonneetingjtheaxle and the shaftfwhereby 1 rotary motion may-be} transferred from; the shaft-rte Jthef' xl gindependently, j of; the small. rotational nioyernent sl Aug; 22, 196 

